Florida Army Corps Furloughs 200 In Shutdown

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) — About 200 U.S. Army Corps of Engineers employees in Florida have been furloughed in the federal government shutdown.

The commander of the corps' Jacksonville district say those furloughs include employees working on an Everglades restoration project with an imminent deadline.

Credit Wikimedia Commons

Col. Alan Dodd said Wednesday that construction and water management projects continue. However, the corps has closed its parks and campgrounds. Work on the Central Everglades Planning Project also has been suspended.

Input from other federal agencies also is required for the Everglades project to move forward. Those agencies also are shut down. It's unclear with the project will meet its year-end deadline for inclusion in a funding bill.

Dodd says employees in the corps' regulatory office and engineers planning future projects may be furloughed next if the shutdown continues.

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